La Strada Documentation Center

Bling: A Planet Rock

Document number
1557
Date
2007
Title
Bling: A Planet Rock
Author/publisher
Raquel Cepeda
Availability
LSI library
Document type(s)
Multimedia,
Keywords
Documentary, Forced labour, Sierra Leone, Mines, Violence, Human rights violation, Crime against humanity, War crime, Armed conflict, Post-conflict situation,
Summary
Raquel Cepeda is an award-winning editor and multi-media journalist, producer and filmmaker. Cepeda is also a multi-cultural media consultant specializing in translating news and social/global issues into an authentic language that is palatable to younger generations—18-34 years of age—stateside and abroad. Cepeda is the director, writer and co-producer of “Bling: A Planet Rock,” an 87 minute documentary about American hip-hop culture’s obsession with diamonds—“blinging”—and all its social trappings, and how this infatuation correlated with the ten-year conflict in Sierra Leone, West Africa. The film follows three rappers—Paul Wall, Tego Calderon, and Raekwon—as they trek to the country to meet the survivors, perpetrators and diamond miners in the country. The film also features Kanye West, Juelz Santana, Jadakiss and former child soldier/author Ishmael Beah. Cepeda co-produced the documentary with a19, VH1, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). BLING takes a satirical, hard-hitting look at how "blinging" in the flashy world of commercial hip-hop played a role in the 10-year civil war in Sierra Leone. Film takes U.S. hip-hop celebrities on a journey to Sierra Leone diamond mining communities, former child soldiers, refugees and local hip-hop artists.
Watch and/or order : https://www.amazon.com/Bling-Tego-Calderon-Paul-Wall/dp/B000S6LS84
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